A Blues Song of My Own

You have heard of the Montgomery Boycott, the bombing in Birmingham, the sit ins at Greensboro, North Carolina, the students in Prince Edward County, Virginia and the Freedom Riders during the Civil Rights Era. This is the story of the integration of the school systems in Prince William County, Virginia. It is the story of the Russell Family — Reverend James P. Russell, President of the NAACP, who selected his daughter Joyce to integrate Gar-Field High School in Woodbridge, Virginia, her sister Deborah and brother Cameron to integrate Occoquan Elementary School, and brother Jimmy to integrate Fred Lynn Middle School. It tells of the danger of their house being shot up on a hot July night, and how Bobby Kennedy sent the Federal Marshals the next morning to get Joyce out of the area. It describes the true feelings of fear, courage, and endurance as well as ostracism and harassment that led to a phone call from A. Philip Randolph encouraging Joyce to stay in school at her lowest moment.

When I first met Joyce, my earliest impression was how much she looked like the pictures of Bessie Smith that I was familiar with. I was able to tell her about the Blue Goose Hollow, where Bessie lived as a child, and show her some other places associated with the great blues singer. I was also very impressed when Joyce told me how, as a child, she had desegregated a school in Prince William County, Virginia. I remember reading newspaper stories about things like that back when it was going on, and trying to imagine what it must be like for a child to go into a totally foreign environment and attempt to learn in an atmosphere that was filled with hate and threats. I remember thinking that it must have required special children to accomplish something like that, never dreaming that someday I would meet one of them.